Bharatanatyam: Apeksha Niranjan’s eyes do the dancing in ‘Nayanam’

It was a hot and sultry evening on 14 June 2024, with dusty winds blowing through Delhi. Bharatanatyam dancer Apeksha Niranjan’s performance at IHC was, then, literally a breath of fresh air. The performance was titled ‘Nayanam’. Apeksha started learning Kathak as a child and then began her training in Bharatanatyam. As she got older, she continued her training under Guru Dr. Sucheta Chapekar and Dr. Alka Lajmi, in the Tanjavur bani, and in the innovative dance style called Nrityaganga, created by Dr. Sucheta Chaphekar, which is a synthesized dance style of Bharatanatyam on Hindustani classical music. She looked pretty in her green and magenta aharyam and her beautiful eyes were well-kohled, though her name is Niranjan. The performance was meant to highlight the eyes and their various attributes.

Apeksha Niranjan

The first piece was an alaripu. The piece describes the eyes of Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati and Lord Vishnu. The piece was set in mishrachapu taalam, choreographed by Apeksha. Through eye movements, she depicted the three eyes of Shiva. She took a squat and a jump as she danced ‘Shiva Shambhu’. The fish-eyed goddess Meenakshi is the jag janani. Lord Padmanabha reclines on the shesha. He is lotus-eyed, the one who has a lotus emerging from his navel. The eyes of the bhakta seek them all. Her nritta had clean lines and gestures and showed neat postures.

 

The second piece was ‘Krishna Kautakam’. The eyes are the senses that see and make the first impact. The gopi watches and is mesmerized by his beauty, the one who is dark-skinned and wears the vanamala. He is Yashoda’s naughty Krishna, Radha’s beloved Krishna, supreme or param Krishna. The refrain was very catchy – mi pahila Krishna, mi dekhila Krishna, ha Krishna, so Krishna, Shri Krishna, Radha Krishna… Krishna Krishna ha Krishna. In her depiction, Apeksha showed the naughty Krishna teasing gopis, Radha’s beloved Krishna with Radha looking at him with her shy eyes. Her heart throbs as she listens to his flute. The nritta was apt, with clean lines and leaps in jatis. Apeksha would come to the last part of each act with a sam in wonderment of what the gopi has seen. 

 

The centrepiece was a varnam in which it is the bhakta who sees various emotions in Maa Parvati’s eyes. The eyes are the mirror to the heart when goddess Parvati looks at Shiva with love. Her eyes sparkle when she is with her friends and talks about her lord. Her eyes are full of anger when she sees Ganga as the other woman on Shiva’s head. She is full of fear when she sees the snakes on Shiva’s body. The bhakta pleads with her to look at him with karuna or compassion. The lyrics of the varnam are from the Soundarya Lahiri and it had been composed by Smita Mahajan. The bhakta enters the temple of Maa Parvati. He compares her eyes to the fish, ‘Shive shringardra’. The abhinaya depicts the eyes as shy and coy as she looks at Shiva. She collects flowers, strings them into a garland for him and lovingly offers it to him. In the next section, she plays hide and seek with her friends and frolics with them. 

 

Her eyes are full of anger, sarosha, when she sees the Ganga on Shiva’s head, and orders her to come down as her eyebrows are raised in anger. She listens to the tales of Shiva consuming poison during Samudra Manthan and his feats of killing the demons. She looks up at him with pride and wonderment (vismaya) and a sparkle in her eyes. Her eyes show fear at the snake that is wrapped around his neck. She wears her ornaments and then, as she looks at him wearing his snakes all over, she is filled with fear (bheeta). 

 

It is the bhakta who then pleads with her – you may look at all in whichever way, but at me, kindly look with karuna only. You might have destroyed demons, but kindly shower me with your kindness in the face of this bhavasagar. The nritta in the varnam was powerful. She performed jatis in all directions, covering the entire stage, going diagonally backwards as well with leaps. Apeksha’s footwork was neat and hastas sharp and expansive. Stretches and squats were well-executed. The varnam had the audience warming up to her. 

 

The next piece was based on the folk rituals and folk music of Poland (Apeksha has Polish ancestry through her grandmother, who was a Polish WW 2 refugee who married a Maharashtrian and settled in India). Though it was a pleasant piece and executed well, I found it a little misplaced. 

 

The next piece was a padam describing the eyes of a mother who is looking for her lost child. The mother had scolded him a little while back for eating sweets from the lord’s bhog. Everyone, including her, had shouted at him. Now she is trying to lure him out of hiding with the smell of laddoos. She calls out for him and goes to look for him under the tree. She asks around for him and finds him sitting on the terrace. She calls him for pooja and he is still playing in the mandir. 

 

He throws a pebble to shake fruits loose from the tree. He is restless and sleepy. When everyone’s eyes are shut, he runs for the laddoo offered to the gods. She then shouts at him and he hides from her. As she repents, he comes from behind to embrace her. She gives him food to eat and puts on a kajal teeka as her eyes are filled with tears. The abhinaya of the child was quite impressive. 

 

The next piece was a Surdas bhajan that delves into the realm of those who cannot see. Their other senses are sharpened and they see the world with their inner eyes or the antarchakshu – ‘Ankhiya Hari darshan ki pyaasi’. 

Apeksha enacted the piece seated, with her eyes shut, like the blind Surdas. Surdas tries to feel the feet of Krishna and pleads with him to show the bhakta his form, his enticing tilak and mala. Apeksha enacted the Govardhan Leela by Krishna. As Surdas sits down to sing, people look at him and make fun. The moment Surdas gets the divine darshan and his sight back, he begs the lord to take away his sight, since he does not want to see the world.

 

The final tillana was also based on the beauty of the eyes and how they express various emotions. The types of eyes depicted were meenakshi, kamakshi, mrignayani, durit, milit mudit, chakit… the various expressions in the eyes. The entire production did not waver from the theme of the eyes and various aspects and attributes were explored through the medium of Bharatanatyam. Nritta, nritya and natya elements were all utilized. Though it became a little lengthy, but kudos to Apeksha for a performance that went on for an hour and a half and did not flag at any point.

--

Accompanying me this evening to Apeksha’s performance was Sejal Talwar, a young relative who was interning with me on dance writing. Below is her edited piece on the same production:

‘Nayanam’ – a timeless tale

 

Our ‘nayanam’, the eyes, are considered the mirror to our souls. Often, what we can’t say is expressed through our eyes. And it’s true – sometimes, not all can be said, but our nayan can’t hide what we truly feel. 

 

Bharatanatyam dancer Apeksha Niranjan transported the audience into a world of grace, rhythm and emotions through an exceptional performance in her production ‘Nayanam’. The performance was held at the Stein Auditorium in the India Habitat Centre, Delhi, on Friday, 14 June 2024. It was a perfect blend of technical mastery and emotive storytelling.

 

‘Nayanam’, which translates to ‘the eyes’, is a thematic presentation that explores the depth of human emotions and the narratives conveyed through the eyes. In an interview with The Indian Express before the show, Apeksha said, ‘In my performance, I highlight the importance of the eyes as windows to the soul, showing their ability to define beauty, communicate feelings and enhance storytelling in dance. In Bharatanatyam, the eyes are crucial, serving as a powerful means of expression that transcends language, race and culture. Through Nayanam, I will illustrate how the eyes act as a bridge for communication, conveying a range of emotions from joy and love to sadness and longing.’

Apeksha Niranjan’s performance showcased her mastery over abhinaya and nritta. The performance seamlessly integrates these elements, highlighting the versatility and depth of Indian classical dance.

Nayanam

The evening commenced with the opening alaripu that portrayed the trinayan Shambho (Shiva with three eyes), jagat janani Meenakshi (the goddess with fish-like eyes) and kamal nayan (one whose eyes are like the lotus) Padmanabha. This was set to mishrachapu tala and was choreographed by Apeksha.

 

She gracefully portrayed the beauty of diverse forms of divine eyes. ‘Nayanam’ was an emotional and spiritual journey that left a lasting impression on everyone present. Apeksha Niranjan’s ability to convey profound emotions through her dance is a true testament to her artistry and passion for Indian classical dance.

Radha Krishna

 

One of the major highlights of the performance was the depiction of Radha’s love for Lord Krishna. Through her intricate nuances and powerful expressions, Apeksha brought to life the epic love story of Radha Krishna. Her movements were as graceful and powerful as her expressions. With her emotive storytelling, she beautifully captured the essence of Radha’s longing for Krishna and Krishna’s playful charm. Through her hand gestures and subtle nuances in her expressions, she portrayed the depth of Radha and Krishna’s love. She created visual poetry that was both captivating and moving.

Varnam (Parvati and Shiva)

 

The central piece of the recital, the varnam, was based on Soundarya Lahari’s ‘Shive shringardra’ and choreographed by Apeksha. It was composed by Smita Mahajan in raga Bihag with jatis by Venkatesha. Through this piece, she depicted the various emotions in the eyes of the goddess Parvati: the shringara bhava when she looks at her husband Lord Shiva; ‘sarosha gangayah’ – anger and jealousy when she sees Ganga sitting on Shiva’s beautiful locks; fear of snakes wrapped around Shiva’s neck; and finally karuna or compassion in the eyes of the devi, who is like a mother – ‘Dehi mayi janani drishtih sakaruna’.

Polish dance

 

Apeksha Niranjan recently collaborated with the Odmienciese Kapela group of Polish folk musicians while performing abroad. In her next piece, she blended Bharatanatyam with Polish music, thus erasing geographical and cultural barriers. Creativity knows no bounds. Through this beautiful piece, she depicted the Polish ritual of stealing the bridegroom’s shoes, similar to the ritual in North Indian weddings as well. If we think carefully, there might be so many rituals in this world similar to ours. Apeksha captured our hearts by portraying this ritual through her nritta and abhinaya.

Vatsalya padam

 

In the following piece, the vatsalya padam, she depicted the feelings of a mother who’s frantically searching for her young child after scolding him for his naughty behaviour. The kid had eaten the prasadam, which were his favourite laddoos, while the prayer was going on in the temple. Enraged by this naughty behaviour, his mother scolded him in front of everyone, which upset the little kid. Later, his mother decided to make his favourite laddoos, thinking he might be hungry, only to find out that her child was missing. Through her expressions and abhinaya, Apeksha beautifully captured the fear and sadness of the mother, the naughtiness side of the child and the frantic search for the child. This piece was composed by Smita Mahajan and was choreographed by Alka Lajmi.

Surdas padam

 

In this last piece, The Surdas pad ‘Ankhiyaan hari darshan ki pyasi’ composed in raga Shivaranjani, Apeksha portrayed the inner eyes (antarchakshu) of the visually impaired poet, who could still see his ishtadev, the lotus-eyed Krishna. This piece starts with Surdas’s longing to see his Lord Krishna and to receive his blessing. While everyone mocks him for his wish (as he was visually impaired), Surdas believes in his bhakti towards Krishna. This piece was a perfect blend of abhinaya and nritta, beautifully portraying how his wish comes true and how his longing to see Krishna is fulfilled. It concluded with a tillana in raga Yaman, where the dancer’s eyes reflected the mudit (happy), chakit (amazed) nayan of the devi, asking the goddess to bestow her kripa drishti on the dancer and the audience.

 

As the performance ended, the audience erupted in applause, giving Apeksha a well-deserved standing ovation. ‘Nayanam’ was not just a dance performance, it was a timeless representation of the emotional and spiritual journeys of its various characters. It transported the audience to a world of peace and spiritual awakening. Apeksha truly charmed the audience with her evocative expressions and precise movements. Her ability to become one with her character and to convey the story with as much emotion as technicality is a testament to her artistry and passion for Bharatanatyam.